The tiny 2,600 years old amulet that was discovered in Jerusalem in 1979 became sensational news: The first hard evidence of text that appears in the Torah. The Hebrew words inscribed on silver scrolls also revealed how our ancients understood and used prayers and blessings - not just as spoken ideas but as embodied, protective modes of magical spells. The amazing thing is that the same text is still in use today - in every Jewish community worldwide.
The Priestly Blessing is recited in synagogues each Saturday, decorates many Judaica artworks, and sung to many B Mitzvah teens as a benediction for their future path. These three Hebrew verses that appear towards the end of chapter 6 are central to Jewish liturgy as it comes - but why are they tucked after ordeals of the wayward wife and the monastic vows? The secret may be in their original purpose - the priestly role as the healers of the body - not just the mind. Think of it this way - most therapists today use words to probe the soul. But there's more research that somatic approaches get at a deeper layer of our angst, memories, hang up’s and healing. The ancient priests did not just pray over our heads - they are instructed to somehow place this prayer like protective tissue on or in our bodies. These were also likely amulets worn by people - and buried with them. Which is how they were discovered in the burial debris in Jerusalem, thousands of years later. After listing the three lines of blessing the instruction is explicit:
“They are to place My Name upon the Children of Israel, that I myself may bless them.” (Ba 6:27)
Place My Name - V’samu et S’hemi- this is the voice of the divine instructing future naming upon us.
Amulets as protection from evil may seem absurd to our modern mind, but our history records the understanding that the power of names, words and symbols far transcends what’s in the mind. The Mezuza is one such leftover from earlier cultures, as are the Tefillin tied to the body each morning by many religious Jews. Both bear one of the ancient and possibly pre-patriarchal names of the divine. The priestly blessing is transmitted today through spoken words and non verbal energy, hands extended, hearts expand. This too is an embodied prayer. My mother taught me to concentrate extra hard during this part of the prayer service, and to imagine the ancestors bring on extra blessings at this time.
Whether a tattoo on your body, affirmation on your fridge, logo on your T-shirt or bumper sticker on your car - we’ve been programmed to use words as vehicles of value and reminders of virtue - as powerful as any loving message or toxic txt can be right now. Perhaps the priestly blessing shows up in the context of the healing rituals as a reminder that the ways with which we spell out best intentions have always been in the shamanic service of the most elusive and divine. This is how we remember to wake up.
What words of protective powers resonate in your body today?
This is a deeply meaningful post. Some years ago I was asked to help a young couple who are Christian to find a font for a quote from Job, after they experienced a miscarriage. I showed them Torah calligraphy and the husband got a tattoo of Adonai Natan V'Adonai Lakach which they loved. Their Savannah was to never forget their first child. They went on to have a healthy baby.
Coming upon the words of the priestly blessing after reading about the sotah and the nazirite - and the many rules and rituals to be followed in the wilderness - felt like reaching an oasis in the desert. This God, who has been a demanding God - and a punishing God - finally comes through as a kind and loving God! Left me feeling peaceful and grateful.
This is a deeply meaningful post. Some years ago I was asked to help a young couple who are Christian to find a font for a quote from Job, after they experienced a miscarriage. I showed them Torah calligraphy and the husband got a tattoo of Adonai Natan V'Adonai Lakach which they loved. Their Savannah was to never forget their first child. They went on to have a healthy baby.
Coming upon the words of the priestly blessing after reading about the sotah and the nazirite - and the many rules and rituals to be followed in the wilderness - felt like reaching an oasis in the desert. This God, who has been a demanding God - and a punishing God - finally comes through as a kind and loving God! Left me feeling peaceful and grateful.